I Did Not Buy This Ticket (2023)
Oct. 3rd, 2025 04:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pauraqueThis short psychological horror visual novel by Brazilian developer Tiago Rech follows Candelaria, a professional mourner. Leaving a funeral to go to her next job, she finds that the bus ticket in her pocket has been replaced by one that leads her to a different bus altogether—one where the passengers are surreal and distorted creatures who ask peculiar, probing questions, and the washroom mirror reflects a face she does not recognize.
I found this to be an absorbing, intelligently written game that expertly uses horror to craft a character study. Several character studies, really, since your choices largely determine the answers to questions about who Candelaria is, why she went into this unusual profession, and where she goes from here. Though it has some freaky imagery and spine-tingling moments, the most haunting aspect is how the game explores Candelaria's trauma, denial, and loss, and the many paths before her that could lead to new strength, or to self-destruction, or to otherworldly possibilities she never could have imagined before she boarded this bus.
I would say the primary theme of the game is sitting with discomfort. Many people dread going to a funeral, but for Candelaria it's become a soothing ritual. From that starting point, the game approaches the idea from different angles. You could keep looking away forever from the things that scare you, but what if you faced them instead? A creature that seems monstrous might actually have something to say that's worth hearing—did you try sitting down and talking to it? Candelaria keeps saying the seats on the bus are too hard, too uncomfortable, but maybe this is where she needs to learn to sit.
A playthrough takes about an hour, so it's short enough that you can easily go back and try for other endings. I played through several times and got invested enough to use an achievement guide to make sure I had seen all the endings and dialogue, and I never do that with VNs! I was impressed by how the game leverages decision points and different orders of events to play out a wide variety of outcomes, and invites the player to bring their own interpretations rather than spelling everything out with rigidly defined "good" and "bad" endings. There are outcomes that you could argue are good or bad depending on how you see things. Ultimately it's Candelaria's life, and it's up to her to decide what it means and what she wants it to be.
I Did Not Buy This Ticket is normally on Steam for $7.99 USD, but it's currently on sale for $3.99 USD. There's also a free demo.
I found this to be an absorbing, intelligently written game that expertly uses horror to craft a character study. Several character studies, really, since your choices largely determine the answers to questions about who Candelaria is, why she went into this unusual profession, and where she goes from here. Though it has some freaky imagery and spine-tingling moments, the most haunting aspect is how the game explores Candelaria's trauma, denial, and loss, and the many paths before her that could lead to new strength, or to self-destruction, or to otherworldly possibilities she never could have imagined before she boarded this bus.
I would say the primary theme of the game is sitting with discomfort. Many people dread going to a funeral, but for Candelaria it's become a soothing ritual. From that starting point, the game approaches the idea from different angles. You could keep looking away forever from the things that scare you, but what if you faced them instead? A creature that seems monstrous might actually have something to say that's worth hearing—did you try sitting down and talking to it? Candelaria keeps saying the seats on the bus are too hard, too uncomfortable, but maybe this is where she needs to learn to sit.
A playthrough takes about an hour, so it's short enough that you can easily go back and try for other endings. I played through several times and got invested enough to use an achievement guide to make sure I had seen all the endings and dialogue, and I never do that with VNs! I was impressed by how the game leverages decision points and different orders of events to play out a wide variety of outcomes, and invites the player to bring their own interpretations rather than spelling everything out with rigidly defined "good" and "bad" endings. There are outcomes that you could argue are good or bad depending on how you see things. Ultimately it's Candelaria's life, and it's up to her to decide what it means and what she wants it to be.
I Did Not Buy This Ticket is normally on Steam for $7.99 USD, but it's currently on sale for $3.99 USD. There's also a free demo.
Fancake Theme for October: Uncommon Settings
Oct. 3rd, 2025 08:26 amrunpunkrun posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
fandomcalendar
fancake is a thematic recommendation community where all members are welcome to post recs, and fanworks of all shapes and sizes are accepted. Check out the community guidelines for the full set of rules. This theme runs for the entire month. If you have any questions, just ask!
i could've done better, but i don't mind
Oct. 2nd, 2025 06:56 pmmusesfoolUgh, I woke up at 3:30 this morning coughing my lungs out and didn't really sleep much after that. It's that itchiness in my throat and chest that make me think allergies, especially given that I haven't really been around people except at the dentist's office yesterday, so I don't think it's covid? But who knows at this point? My quest to get this year's flu/covid shots has been derailed a couple of times but I am off again next Friday, so that is going to be my next attempt.
In more fannish news, I read that Dungeon Crawler Carl has been optioned for tv, and now I want a Carl vid to Mike Ness's version of "Don't Think Twice."
*
In more fannish news, I read that Dungeon Crawler Carl has been optioned for tv, and now I want a Carl vid to Mike Ness's version of "Don't Think Twice."
*
Highlander: HLH_Shortcuts, the annual Highlander Fanfic Exchange
Oct. 2nd, 2025 08:33 ambrightknightie posting in fandomcalendarSign-ups are now open for hlh_shortcuts 2025, the long-running annual Highlander Holiday Shortcuts fanfiction exchange! (The name "Shortcuts" nods to the 500-word minimum, from the days when 1,000 words was the usual minimum.)
When:
How:
Yay, Highlander fun and friends! Come play with us?
hlh_shortcuts 2025, the long-running annual Highlander Holiday Shortcuts fanfiction exchange! (The name "Shortcuts" nods to the 500-word minimum, from the days when 1,000 words was the usual minimum.)When:
- Sign-up: October 1 to 11, 2025 at 11:59PM CDT on AO3
- Receive assignment: By October 14, 2025
- Default deadline: November 20, 2025
- Submissions: By December 15, 2025 on AO3
- Stories revealed: The first on December 20, 2025 (the winter solstice, Duncan's birthday) and the rest a few per day as long as they last, per tradition
How:
- This year's collection: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/hlhshortcuts2025
- Guides: HLH_Shortcuts AO3 Sign-Ups + HLH_Shortcuts AO3 Submissions + HLH_Shortcuts AO3 Defaults + Find a beta-reader / be a beta-reader
Yay, Highlander fun and friends! Come play with us?
Anime watching roundup
Oct. 2nd, 2025 07:36 pmthawreckaThe seasons of both The Summer Hikaru Died and Kaiju no 8 both ended on the weekend, and while the former was more satisfying than the latter, I had a pretty good time with both.
The cliffhanger Kaiju no 8 ended on feels less satisfying than last season's - feel less like an actual cliffhanger and more like just stopping the story in the middle of a fight - but I'm looking forward to season 3 if/when that arrives. The beginning of the season had a bit of a lull with the bunch of new characters I had yet to care about, but ever since Kafka fighting Isao it's been great, building and building emotionally. I wouldn't say I'm in the fandom, which seems to be composed mostly of teenagers super hot for Hoshino and his bowl cut writing copious amounts of readerfic, but I am writing fic of one kind and considering fic of another, and contemplating buying merch when I get to Tokyo.
The Summer Hikaru Died's season ender had a great emotional moment, and I'm excited that it's been renewed for another season (whenever that will arrive! I'm willing to wait). A lot of people who've read the manga seem to like the anime adaptation more, so I'm not sure whether to read the manga or just wait for the next season... The theme song is also stuck in my head, so there's that.
With regard to Bleach I finished the old anime series, sped my way through the anime movies, and have now got on to the Thousand Year Blood War anime. So I can slow down now, LOL. I actually think the Fullbring arc might be better in the anime. The animation towards the end of the old anime is kind of stiff (a lot of nothing moving but people's hair), but the pacing of the emotional backstory for the Fullbringers spread through the arc is better, and I like how it captures that slow quiet heavyness of Ichigo without his powers, that feeling like he's underwater and just pretending everything's fine. I also like how small and petty everyone in X-Cution ends up feeling; that honestly makes me have more sympathy for the characters than less. It's an arc that's really grown on me! I'm still disappointed it didn't make more use of Chad, but it's a great arc if you're emotionally invested in Ichigo & Ishida's friendship, as I am.
I do feel a little disappointed the old anime didn't have more Hueco Mundo filler, though. I think that would have been a great way to get deeper into the arrancar leftover after Aizen, who are relevant in the last arc after all...
My verdict on the movies: Eh, they're okay. They're basically filler arcs but shorter. I think the first two are the best, and the last one is the messiest with the highest highs and lowest lows. The third film feels like an interesting idea rendered in the least interesting way possible (I also feel like it's catering to the Ichigo/Rukia shippers, whereas the fourth has fanservice for Ichigo/Orihime shippers instead). The idea that without memories of Rukia Renji would forget he has bankai is interesting! So is the idea that Byakuya would believe Ichigo about a Rukia he doesn't remember because Ichigo mentions Hisana! But the execution is, eh, whatever.
Anyway, I'm not far into the TYBW anime yet but it's so much prettier than the old anime and I'm really vibing it. The last arc of Bleach is all over the place but there are parts I really enjoy that I'm excited to get to. It does still have some of that hair blowing in the wind so you won't realise it's otherwise a still image stuff 🤣 and way more of the hollows politely waiting to fight while someone monologues than I'd like, but still! I'm not far in but I'm excited and having fun! I can't wait to see Ishida suffer 🩵🩵🩵
The cliffhanger Kaiju no 8 ended on feels less satisfying than last season's - feel less like an actual cliffhanger and more like just stopping the story in the middle of a fight - but I'm looking forward to season 3 if/when that arrives. The beginning of the season had a bit of a lull with the bunch of new characters I had yet to care about, but ever since Kafka fighting Isao it's been great, building and building emotionally. I wouldn't say I'm in the fandom, which seems to be composed mostly of teenagers super hot for Hoshino and his bowl cut writing copious amounts of readerfic, but I am writing fic of one kind and considering fic of another, and contemplating buying merch when I get to Tokyo.
The Summer Hikaru Died's season ender had a great emotional moment, and I'm excited that it's been renewed for another season (whenever that will arrive! I'm willing to wait). A lot of people who've read the manga seem to like the anime adaptation more, so I'm not sure whether to read the manga or just wait for the next season... The theme song is also stuck in my head, so there's that.
With regard to Bleach I finished the old anime series, sped my way through the anime movies, and have now got on to the Thousand Year Blood War anime. So I can slow down now, LOL. I actually think the Fullbring arc might be better in the anime. The animation towards the end of the old anime is kind of stiff (a lot of nothing moving but people's hair), but the pacing of the emotional backstory for the Fullbringers spread through the arc is better, and I like how it captures that slow quiet heavyness of Ichigo without his powers, that feeling like he's underwater and just pretending everything's fine. I also like how small and petty everyone in X-Cution ends up feeling; that honestly makes me have more sympathy for the characters than less. It's an arc that's really grown on me! I'm still disappointed it didn't make more use of Chad, but it's a great arc if you're emotionally invested in Ichigo & Ishida's friendship, as I am.
I do feel a little disappointed the old anime didn't have more Hueco Mundo filler, though. I think that would have been a great way to get deeper into the arrancar leftover after Aizen, who are relevant in the last arc after all...
My verdict on the movies: Eh, they're okay. They're basically filler arcs but shorter. I think the first two are the best, and the last one is the messiest with the highest highs and lowest lows. The third film feels like an interesting idea rendered in the least interesting way possible (I also feel like it's catering to the Ichigo/Rukia shippers, whereas the fourth has fanservice for Ichigo/Orihime shippers instead). The idea that without memories of Rukia Renji would forget he has bankai is interesting! So is the idea that Byakuya would believe Ichigo about a Rukia he doesn't remember because Ichigo mentions Hisana! But the execution is, eh, whatever.
Anyway, I'm not far into the TYBW anime yet but it's so much prettier than the old anime and I'm really vibing it. The last arc of Bleach is all over the place but there are parts I really enjoy that I'm excited to get to. It does still have some of that hair blowing in the wind so you won't realise it's otherwise a still image stuff 🤣 and way more of the hollows politely waiting to fight while someone monologues than I'd like, but still! I'm not far in but I'm excited and having fun! I can't wait to see Ishida suffer 🩵🩵🩵
The breath that passed from you to me
Oct. 1st, 2025 07:12 pmmusesfoolRabbit, rabbit! Gotta start the month out right!
According to the dentist, my teeth are mostly fine but another old filling has started to crack so he wants to take it out and put a crown on it. Since I have money in my FSA because I didn't order new glasses, I said let's do it! So as long as he gets the approval from my insurance, I should be having that done on 10/22. I'll probably still have to pay about $500 out of pocket, but that's better than the whole $1500. As always, he marveled about the Maryland bridge I have, which has been in place since 1994; even when I got it, my dentist at the time said it would probably only last 5 years, so it's quite impressive. "Those dentists back then knew what they were doing!" he told me today, and I wanted to be like, "1994 wasn't that long ago," but it was 31 years ago apparently. That just seems wrong.
Anyway, I could barely stay awake on my way home, so I crawled into bed and ended up sleeping for THREE HOURS, which I was not expecting. I will take it though.
I made pancakes for dinner, but as I was mixing up my wet ingredients, I put what I thought was vanilla in the mixing cup, but as soon as I smelled it, I knew it was the wrong bottle. It turned out to be fior di Sicilia, which is lovely and smells like an Italian bakery, but is not what I wanted in my pancakes. Whoops. The vanilla bottle is the same size, so I have now rearranged that shelf so the vanilla remains in front and the fior di Sicilia is back behind a bunch of stuff. I also redid my wet ingredients - it was only an egg and some milk, so not a huge loss to start over.
Now I'm going to watch the new episode of Slow Horses and then later, the season premiere of Abbott Elementary.
*
According to the dentist, my teeth are mostly fine but another old filling has started to crack so he wants to take it out and put a crown on it. Since I have money in my FSA because I didn't order new glasses, I said let's do it! So as long as he gets the approval from my insurance, I should be having that done on 10/22. I'll probably still have to pay about $500 out of pocket, but that's better than the whole $1500. As always, he marveled about the Maryland bridge I have, which has been in place since 1994; even when I got it, my dentist at the time said it would probably only last 5 years, so it's quite impressive. "Those dentists back then knew what they were doing!" he told me today, and I wanted to be like, "1994 wasn't that long ago," but it was 31 years ago apparently. That just seems wrong.
Anyway, I could barely stay awake on my way home, so I crawled into bed and ended up sleeping for THREE HOURS, which I was not expecting. I will take it though.
I made pancakes for dinner, but as I was mixing up my wet ingredients, I put what I thought was vanilla in the mixing cup, but as soon as I smelled it, I knew it was the wrong bottle. It turned out to be fior di Sicilia, which is lovely and smells like an Italian bakery, but is not what I wanted in my pancakes. Whoops. The vanilla bottle is the same size, so I have now rearranged that shelf so the vanilla remains in front and the fior di Sicilia is back behind a bunch of stuff. I also redid my wet ingredients - it was only an egg and some milk, so not a huge loss to start over.
Now I'm going to watch the new episode of Slow Horses and then later, the season premiere of Abbott Elementary.
*
Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (1872)
Oct. 1st, 2025 12:06 pmpauraqueSpooky season is here! This month I'll be reviewing books and games with a horror or generally Halloween-ish theme.
This vampire novella is said to have been an inspiration for Dracula (which I'll be reviewing next week) and gothic horror in general. It follows a lonely teenaged girl named Laura who lives with her widower father and their servants in a remote Austrian country house. When a passing carriage crashes near their property, they rush to help and find that the occupants are two older women and a girl Laura's age. One of the women begs them to take in her daughter Carmilla and allow her to recover from the crash, promising to return for her in a few months after she's finished her urgent but nebulous business elsewhere. This is all a bit suspicious given that Carmilla doesn't really seem injured and her mother has given strict orders that she's not allowed to reveal anything about herself or her family. But Laura is starving for the company of a girl her own age, and as for Carmilla, well... the modern reader will have already guessed that she's starving too.
I really enjoyed this. It definitely is rich with gothic atmosphere and prose that's literary but very clear. (Victorian prose can sometimes be a bit... much for me.) It is also very very very gay. It's not subtle or subtextual; Carmilla's passionate desire for Laura is overtly romantic as well as vampiric. Laura responds to this with flustered confusion, feeling both intense attraction and fear. It could be read as a cautionary tale of not inviting the scary lesbian into the house, but I found it more complex than that.
I thought it was interesting that Carmilla's mother and her female companion are never seen again. I assume that the mother wasn't her birth mother, but rather her vampire-mother, the one who turned her, and maybe the other woman was her vampire-grandmother then? I wasn't completely sure how this worked beyond the maiden-mother-crone imagery of the trio. It did seem obvious that the "carriage crash" setup was a con—pretend Carmilla is hurt, play on people's sympathies to get them to invite her in. The loose thread of what happened to the others also resonates with the idea that once female agency is awakened, there's no closing the book on it.
Carmilla is in the public domain, so you can read it on Project Gutenberg if you like. It's a quick read!
This vampire novella is said to have been an inspiration for Dracula (which I'll be reviewing next week) and gothic horror in general. It follows a lonely teenaged girl named Laura who lives with her widower father and their servants in a remote Austrian country house. When a passing carriage crashes near their property, they rush to help and find that the occupants are two older women and a girl Laura's age. One of the women begs them to take in her daughter Carmilla and allow her to recover from the crash, promising to return for her in a few months after she's finished her urgent but nebulous business elsewhere. This is all a bit suspicious given that Carmilla doesn't really seem injured and her mother has given strict orders that she's not allowed to reveal anything about herself or her family. But Laura is starving for the company of a girl her own age, and as for Carmilla, well... the modern reader will have already guessed that she's starving too.
I really enjoyed this. It definitely is rich with gothic atmosphere and prose that's literary but very clear. (Victorian prose can sometimes be a bit... much for me.) It is also very very very gay. It's not subtle or subtextual; Carmilla's passionate desire for Laura is overtly romantic as well as vampiric. Laura responds to this with flustered confusion, feeling both intense attraction and fear. It could be read as a cautionary tale of not inviting the scary lesbian into the house, but I found it more complex than that.
spoilery thoughts
Though written by a man, much of the narrative centers women. It does evoke the idea that women's agency is scary, but it's less in the way of men being threatened by it, and more from the perspective of a young woman who is fearful of claiming it and abandoning the safety of gendered expectations and conformity. It's a man who eventually takes over the action of identifying and destroying the vampire (though at first Carmilla physically overpowers him!) which makes sense because he doesn't see the ambiguity, he only sees the threat. The conclusion leans into the ambiguity, though, saying that Laura was never quite the same after her encounter with Carmilla, even though she survived. I think it is important that Laura's first-person narrative is framed as being told to a woman, confiding her past experiences to someone who might understand them.I thought it was interesting that Carmilla's mother and her female companion are never seen again. I assume that the mother wasn't her birth mother, but rather her vampire-mother, the one who turned her, and maybe the other woman was her vampire-grandmother then? I wasn't completely sure how this worked beyond the maiden-mother-crone imagery of the trio. It did seem obvious that the "carriage crash" setup was a con—pretend Carmilla is hurt, play on people's sympathies to get them to invite her in. The loose thread of what happened to the others also resonates with the idea that once female agency is awakened, there's no closing the book on it.
Carmilla is in the public domain, so you can read it on Project Gutenberg if you like. It's a quick read!
To the doubts that complicate your mind
Sep. 30th, 2025 07:15 pmmusesfoolPet-sitting over the weekend was ok, not great. Bleu was a good boy and a sweetheart. Brie was fine when we were inside, but once she got out, it took a couple of hours - repeatedly - to coax her back into the house, because even though she was happy to climb into my lap on the couch, she flinched away whenever I stood in the doorway and called her to come in. Even just sitting in a chair and propping the door open and putting down treats to lead her in took a while. So that was not great. Additionally, because of the cat, I had to take a ridiculous amount of allergy medication just to breathe and my throat and chest were itchy the whole time.
On the plus side, the pizza I ordered was delicious!
I took yesterday off and scheduled a grocery delivery, which never arrived. Apparently none of the drivers would take it? I don't know what that even means, but I took that personally. I cancelled the order, and then today, put in an Aldi order which arrived on time and only cost half as much. *hands*
I'm off again tomorrow for a dental appointment. We are battening down the hatches for a govt shutdown at work, but should be okay if it doesn't last too long. Otherwise, there could be furloughs.
If you, like me, want to escape into fanfic, here's this month's recs update:
unfitforsociety has been updated for September 2025 with 10 recs:
✭ 9 Batfamily and 1 Batfam/Spiderman crossover
***
On the plus side, the pizza I ordered was delicious!
I took yesterday off and scheduled a grocery delivery, which never arrived. Apparently none of the drivers would take it? I don't know what that even means, but I took that personally. I cancelled the order, and then today, put in an Aldi order which arrived on time and only cost half as much. *hands*
I'm off again tomorrow for a dental appointment. We are battening down the hatches for a govt shutdown at work, but should be okay if it doesn't last too long. Otherwise, there could be furloughs.
If you, like me, want to escape into fanfic, here's this month's recs update:
unfitforsociety has been updated for September 2025 with 10 recs:✭ 9 Batfamily and 1 Batfam/Spiderman crossover
***
Various media-(mostly book-)related things
Sep. 30th, 2025 11:03 amumadoshiSilver and Lead, the newest October Daye book (and the first one published by Tor) is out today!
The ebook came to about $25, and I just bought it, but OUCH. Just. Ouch. Since the Toby books started getting initially published as hardcovers, I've been buying the ebooks initially and then getting paperbacks later, but this might keep me from rebuying in hard copy going forward. >.< We'll see.
I expect I'll start reading Toby today (it's a day off), but up to this point, for the last week or so I haven't been trying to get my brain to engage with a new story of any kind, what with the work crunch. I've mostly stuck to watching things withscruloose when there's been a chance. We're caught up on The Summer Hikaru Died (and I think the most recent episode might've been the season finale? Anyone know offhand?) and made more of a dent into season 1 of Silo.
Other than that, I watched a couple episodes of Leverage on Friday (late season 4, and finally into the chunk of episodes I know I haven't seen; I think from here on the only ep. of the original show I've previously seen is the series finale) and I've been sifting through cookbooks.
C&Ped from elsenet, posted yesterday:
After months of not getting around to it, I just ordered a heap of danmei (and one manga volume) from the Beguiling in Toronto (a fantastic comic store to begin with, and I appreciate them enough now for maintaining a masking policy that I'd rather order from them even though free shipping requires a $300+ order).
I always enjoy seeing (and envy) people's danmei shelves, but nearly all of my danmei is in ebooks a) to save both money and shelf space and b) because I'm much better at actually reading things that way. But the Rosmei danmei doesn't have that option, and they licensed some priest titles, so hard copies it is!
[Yesterday's] order: Coins of Destiny 1, The Defectives 1, Drowning Sorrows in Raging Fire 1-2, Global Examination 1, Kaleidoscope of Death 1-2, Silent Reading (Mo Du) 1 special edition (one of my hard copy exceptions from 7S), and Kaze Hikaru 33.
The ebook came to about $25, and I just bought it, but OUCH. Just. Ouch. Since the Toby books started getting initially published as hardcovers, I've been buying the ebooks initially and then getting paperbacks later, but this might keep me from rebuying in hard copy going forward. >.< We'll see.
I expect I'll start reading Toby today (it's a day off), but up to this point, for the last week or so I haven't been trying to get my brain to engage with a new story of any kind, what with the work crunch. I've mostly stuck to watching things with
scruloose when there's been a chance. We're caught up on The Summer Hikaru Died (and I think the most recent episode might've been the season finale? Anyone know offhand?) and made more of a dent into season 1 of Silo.Other than that, I watched a couple episodes of Leverage on Friday (late season 4, and finally into the chunk of episodes I know I haven't seen; I think from here on the only ep. of the original show I've previously seen is the series finale) and I've been sifting through cookbooks.
C&Ped from elsenet, posted yesterday:
After months of not getting around to it, I just ordered a heap of danmei (and one manga volume) from the Beguiling in Toronto (a fantastic comic store to begin with, and I appreciate them enough now for maintaining a masking policy that I'd rather order from them even though free shipping requires a $300+ order).
I always enjoy seeing (and envy) people's danmei shelves, but nearly all of my danmei is in ebooks a) to save both money and shelf space and b) because I'm much better at actually reading things that way. But the Rosmei danmei doesn't have that option, and they licensed some priest titles, so hard copies it is!
[Yesterday's] order: Coins of Destiny 1, The Defectives 1, Drowning Sorrows in Raging Fire 1-2, Global Examination 1, Kaleidoscope of Death 1-2, Silent Reading (Mo Du) 1 special edition (one of my hard copy exceptions from 7S), and Kaze Hikaru 33.
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)
Sep. 30th, 2025 07:30 ampauraqueAfter rewatching the Original Trilogy, sdk and I allowed our enthusiasm to carry us forward into rewatching the Prequel Trilogy. That was... well, it was certainly a decision that we made.
I saw this movie in the theater and had not seen it since then. I knew it wasn't a cinematic masterpiece, but I did go in with a positive attitude hoping to enjoy some cheesy silliness and at least have fun razzing it. I'm afraid I was not able to maintain that attitude; I actually found the movie unpleasant to watch. So if you love it, maybe skip this post.
( cut for length and negativity )
In conclusion, I don't recommend this movie. I do, however, recommend this:
Embedded video: Music video for Weird Al's song "The Saga Begins", which retells the plot of the movie to the tune of "American Pie" by Don McClean.
Nonetheless we plan to persevere with Attack of the Clones, which I think I have seen part of. Maybe it will be better! Let me dream!
sdk and I allowed our enthusiasm to carry us forward into rewatching the Prequel Trilogy. That was... well, it was certainly a decision that we made.I saw this movie in the theater and had not seen it since then. I knew it wasn't a cinematic masterpiece, but I did go in with a positive attitude hoping to enjoy some cheesy silliness and at least have fun razzing it. I'm afraid I was not able to maintain that attitude; I actually found the movie unpleasant to watch. So if you love it, maybe skip this post.
( cut for length and negativity )In conclusion, I don't recommend this movie. I do, however, recommend this:
Embedded video: Music video for Weird Al's song "The Saga Begins", which retells the plot of the movie to the tune of "American Pie" by Don McClean.
Nonetheless we plan to persevere with Attack of the Clones, which I think I have seen part of. Maybe it will be better! Let me dream!
(no subject)
Sep. 29th, 2025 11:55 amnopeI am Nope on AO3. I have no specific DNWs. I am happy to receive fic of any rating, dark or light, gen or shipfic. Prompts should be considered jumping off points. Go wherever the muse takes you.
I am open to treats.
General Likes: families, found families, friends, ensembles, people trying to be better, people helping other people be better, big sci-fi ideas, weirdness and wonder, missions going hilariously awry, heists, cases, missions, super powered shenanigans, identity porn, backstory, world building, superhero teams doing mundane team things like going bowling together (and then using their powers to cheat), want-of-a-nail type AUs (change a single thing), what if X was the hero and Y the villain AUs, time travel, time loops, weird dimensional shenanigans
General Dislikes: always no powers AUs (coffee shop but they have powers still is fine, "we've been depowered, now what" as a plot element is fine, but "we never got powers" isn't fine unless it's maybe a villain plot and gets resolved, then maybe? I don't know; please don't take all the super out of my superheroes, basically), villains whose major defining characteristic is being petty and sadistic, gratuitous harm to children; I don't particularly care for scat, or age-play in a sexual context (but Sins of Youth style "all the kids are suddenly adults and all the adults are suddenly kids" is fine)
Champions
Miles Morales, Sam Alexander, Kamala Khan, Riri Williams
Those who move with courage make the path for those who live with fear.
With Kamala's Law repealed, the team can get back to their original mission: helping the people who the big teams and their cosmic fights overlook. So what's their first move? How do they win back the people they lost, especially with Roxxon having co-opted their last victory? How will they deal with Roxxon going forward? (Are the Freelancers still around?) Will they try something big to get attention? (I liked them infiltrating Roxxon. The team would be great at pulling off a heist. But who would they need to steal from and why?) Or will they start small? Do they drop in on each other's usual turf to help patrol? How would Kamala like Chicago, or Riri wherever it is in Arizona Sam lives? Would they try and straighten themselves out first? They've all dealt with a lot of trauma, whether in the Champions or their own titles. Would they seek therapy? Could Sam, Miles and Kamala join Riri in her group therapy sessions? How would they help each other out, not just as team-mates, but as friends? Can they be friends out of costume? Miles's deal with Mephisto to save Kamala directly led to Blackfire manipulating Riri into betraying the team; have they ever dealt with that? How does Sam handle being around three geniuses? How will Riri get Miles back for putting her in the spotlight? Perhaps the team could actually make an effort to find Sam's dad, or the Sparky/Ultron thing could be addressed. Or just have the whole team hanging out!
[Note: this is an AND request; please include all the characters. You are welcome to include or ignore wider Marvel canon post the end of the Champions vol 4 as you see fit.]
Miles Morales: Spider-Man
Miles Morales, Billie Morales, Aaron Davis, Selim
On the rise and fall of empire.
Empire of the Spider raises so many questions. I would like to know more about the backstory of Captain Billie and how Selim took over Brooklyn and what life was like in the Empire before our Miles and Shift arrived. (Death of Empire!Miles? The Battle of Flatbush?) And at the other end, what happens after Selim dies? How does Spider-Smasher Billie deal with the fallout of the end of an empire? Does she claim it for her own? What does a post-Selim Brooklyn look like? Or if you're interested in AUs of AUs, what if our Miles had never arrived? Could/would Billie have rescued Aaron? What if Aaron arrived in this universe in time for the Selim/Empire!Miles battle and changed the outcome? What kind of empire would Aaron and Selim build if they were working together? Or what if Selim had managed to recruit Billie? Or all of them? Empire of the Spider-Family!
If you'd rather write in the 616 universe, I'd like to see Miles and Billie hang out. The issue where he takes her on patrol is a lot of fun! Or maybe Miles telling Billie about time he'd spent with Aaron? All three of them hanging out after the return from the Empire universe? Miles trying to explain spider-clones to Billie might be fun. I'd also be happy with AUs of the 616 timeline. What would make our Miles declare himself, if not emperor, perhaps Kingpin of Brooklyn? What if Aaron raised Miles (and/or Billie)? What if Aaron raised Selim? What if Selim raised Billie?
[Note: feel free to treat this request as OR, not AND; you do not need to include all four in the same story.]
Static
Virgil Hawkins, Richie Foley, Darius Davis, Ivan Evans
This power is changing me. I need to choose what kind of change that's gonna be.
I really like the Bang Baby help app idea, so any combo of these guys helping out in their own different ways would be good (or all of them, like, five times we saved a Bang Baby, one time they saved us). I like that this version of Virgil is a bit more explicitly politically active (even if he's only at the march to avoid being jumped after school) if you want to lean into that, but if you also want to write straight hero shit, that is cool too. Virgil finding new ways to use his powers is always fun. (And Ebon!)
I kind of vaguely ship Richie/Darius and Virgil+Ivan/Having an extremely complicated interpersonal relationship. I can kind of see the Richie/Virgil here even though Richie is clear in Season One that he's a no on that. But feel free to mix and match or don't be shippy at all. Maybe do something with their families? Fill in backstory, or just a day in the life, or maybe multiple days in the life showing how the Big Bang changed everything but also maybe some things stayed the same?
[Note: feel free to treat this request as OR, not AND; you do not need to include all four in the same story. Also feel free to consider the whole of the Milestone reboot as canon here, not just Season One and Shadows of Dakota.]
Xero
Coltrane Walker, Trent Walker, One, Frank Decker
Saving people was not in their job description.
There's a whole lot of space here for fill in the gaps type fic: missions both before and after becoming Xero, back-story for everybody, wider world building in general, what happened in the gap between Coltrane's second resurrection and Trent writing his book, etc. etc.
Is Decker actually dead? Was Trent right about Draza and, if so, was Decker always Draza or did he at some point kill the original Draza and take his place? Did Rick the CIA guy only find Decker's house because Decker told him where it was in order to manipulate Xero? How did Decker get to where he was in the first place? Would he really have given Coltrane his own position? Is One actually dead? How did she get where she was? Why did a white woman choose to be an Asian man? Did she choose, or did Decker? There's a lot to talk about regarding identity, race and gender and its use and meaning. But if you want to ignore all that and talk about basketball and cowboy crap, I am good with that too.
I also like how the series casually mentions the dead alien source of the tech and then just breezes right past it. Maybe explore that more? Or do something with the DC universe, because Xero is canonically in it as per the Genesis event crossover. Maybe you could write the Xero/Batman crossover that Priest never got to finish! (And then reused an entire sequence from it for his Deathstroke comic. Xero and Deathstroke?! I feel I am kind of cheating at Yuletide at this point, though. Maybe don't do any of this bit, sorry!)
[Note: feel free to treat this request as OR, not AND; you do not need to include all four in the same story.]
SG Lewis Feat. Ruel: Flames
Male Kidnapper, Female Kidnapper, Kidnap Victim
I'm in love with your games.
What happened before the video that lead to the kid being kidnapped? Was it a deliberate plan or an impulse? Is it for money or did the kid witness something he should have? What happened after the video with the female kidnapper confronting the kid in the desert? Is she out for revenge, cleaning up the mess, ready to kidnap him again, some secret fourth option? For that matter, what happened during the video? What was going on in that car? What's the relationship between the kidnappers? What brought them to this moment and how does the dynamic shift once they have the kid and then shift again post crash? What caused the car flip anyway? The light flash makes it seem like another vehicle but, if so, why didn't it stop? Did it stop? Is the male kidnapper dead? How did the kid get out of the car and where, if anywhere, was he headed? And how did she get there first? What if the video isn't non-linear and every cut to the kid in the desert is yet another go around in the time loop they're all trapped in?!
[Note: this is an AND request; please include all the characters. Also I keep saying "kid" but don't feel he has to be an actual kid.]
I am open to treats.
General Likes: families, found families, friends, ensembles, people trying to be better, people helping other people be better, big sci-fi ideas, weirdness and wonder, missions going hilariously awry, heists, cases, missions, super powered shenanigans, identity porn, backstory, world building, superhero teams doing mundane team things like going bowling together (and then using their powers to cheat), want-of-a-nail type AUs (change a single thing), what if X was the hero and Y the villain AUs, time travel, time loops, weird dimensional shenanigans
General Dislikes: always no powers AUs (coffee shop but they have powers still is fine, "we've been depowered, now what" as a plot element is fine, but "we never got powers" isn't fine unless it's maybe a villain plot and gets resolved, then maybe? I don't know; please don't take all the super out of my superheroes, basically), villains whose major defining characteristic is being petty and sadistic, gratuitous harm to children; I don't particularly care for scat, or age-play in a sexual context (but Sins of Youth style "all the kids are suddenly adults and all the adults are suddenly kids" is fine)
Champions
Miles Morales, Sam Alexander, Kamala Khan, Riri Williams
Those who move with courage make the path for those who live with fear.
With Kamala's Law repealed, the team can get back to their original mission: helping the people who the big teams and their cosmic fights overlook. So what's their first move? How do they win back the people they lost, especially with Roxxon having co-opted their last victory? How will they deal with Roxxon going forward? (Are the Freelancers still around?) Will they try something big to get attention? (I liked them infiltrating Roxxon. The team would be great at pulling off a heist. But who would they need to steal from and why?) Or will they start small? Do they drop in on each other's usual turf to help patrol? How would Kamala like Chicago, or Riri wherever it is in Arizona Sam lives? Would they try and straighten themselves out first? They've all dealt with a lot of trauma, whether in the Champions or their own titles. Would they seek therapy? Could Sam, Miles and Kamala join Riri in her group therapy sessions? How would they help each other out, not just as team-mates, but as friends? Can they be friends out of costume? Miles's deal with Mephisto to save Kamala directly led to Blackfire manipulating Riri into betraying the team; have they ever dealt with that? How does Sam handle being around three geniuses? How will Riri get Miles back for putting her in the spotlight? Perhaps the team could actually make an effort to find Sam's dad, or the Sparky/Ultron thing could be addressed. Or just have the whole team hanging out!
[Note: this is an AND request; please include all the characters. You are welcome to include or ignore wider Marvel canon post the end of the Champions vol 4 as you see fit.]
Miles Morales: Spider-Man
Miles Morales, Billie Morales, Aaron Davis, Selim
On the rise and fall of empire.
Empire of the Spider raises so many questions. I would like to know more about the backstory of Captain Billie and how Selim took over Brooklyn and what life was like in the Empire before our Miles and Shift arrived. (Death of Empire!Miles? The Battle of Flatbush?) And at the other end, what happens after Selim dies? How does Spider-Smasher Billie deal with the fallout of the end of an empire? Does she claim it for her own? What does a post-Selim Brooklyn look like? Or if you're interested in AUs of AUs, what if our Miles had never arrived? Could/would Billie have rescued Aaron? What if Aaron arrived in this universe in time for the Selim/Empire!Miles battle and changed the outcome? What kind of empire would Aaron and Selim build if they were working together? Or what if Selim had managed to recruit Billie? Or all of them? Empire of the Spider-Family!
If you'd rather write in the 616 universe, I'd like to see Miles and Billie hang out. The issue where he takes her on patrol is a lot of fun! Or maybe Miles telling Billie about time he'd spent with Aaron? All three of them hanging out after the return from the Empire universe? Miles trying to explain spider-clones to Billie might be fun. I'd also be happy with AUs of the 616 timeline. What would make our Miles declare himself, if not emperor, perhaps Kingpin of Brooklyn? What if Aaron raised Miles (and/or Billie)? What if Aaron raised Selim? What if Selim raised Billie?
[Note: feel free to treat this request as OR, not AND; you do not need to include all four in the same story.]
Static
Virgil Hawkins, Richie Foley, Darius Davis, Ivan Evans
This power is changing me. I need to choose what kind of change that's gonna be.
I really like the Bang Baby help app idea, so any combo of these guys helping out in their own different ways would be good (or all of them, like, five times we saved a Bang Baby, one time they saved us). I like that this version of Virgil is a bit more explicitly politically active (even if he's only at the march to avoid being jumped after school) if you want to lean into that, but if you also want to write straight hero shit, that is cool too. Virgil finding new ways to use his powers is always fun. (And Ebon!)
I kind of vaguely ship Richie/Darius and Virgil+Ivan/Having an extremely complicated interpersonal relationship. I can kind of see the Richie/Virgil here even though Richie is clear in Season One that he's a no on that. But feel free to mix and match or don't be shippy at all. Maybe do something with their families? Fill in backstory, or just a day in the life, or maybe multiple days in the life showing how the Big Bang changed everything but also maybe some things stayed the same?
[Note: feel free to treat this request as OR, not AND; you do not need to include all four in the same story. Also feel free to consider the whole of the Milestone reboot as canon here, not just Season One and Shadows of Dakota.]
Xero
Coltrane Walker, Trent Walker, One, Frank Decker
Saving people was not in their job description.
There's a whole lot of space here for fill in the gaps type fic: missions both before and after becoming Xero, back-story for everybody, wider world building in general, what happened in the gap between Coltrane's second resurrection and Trent writing his book, etc. etc.
Is Decker actually dead? Was Trent right about Draza and, if so, was Decker always Draza or did he at some point kill the original Draza and take his place? Did Rick the CIA guy only find Decker's house because Decker told him where it was in order to manipulate Xero? How did Decker get to where he was in the first place? Would he really have given Coltrane his own position? Is One actually dead? How did she get where she was? Why did a white woman choose to be an Asian man? Did she choose, or did Decker? There's a lot to talk about regarding identity, race and gender and its use and meaning. But if you want to ignore all that and talk about basketball and cowboy crap, I am good with that too.
I also like how the series casually mentions the dead alien source of the tech and then just breezes right past it. Maybe explore that more? Or do something with the DC universe, because Xero is canonically in it as per the Genesis event crossover. Maybe you could write the Xero/Batman crossover that Priest never got to finish! (And then reused an entire sequence from it for his Deathstroke comic. Xero and Deathstroke?! I feel I am kind of cheating at Yuletide at this point, though. Maybe don't do any of this bit, sorry!)
[Note: feel free to treat this request as OR, not AND; you do not need to include all four in the same story.]
SG Lewis Feat. Ruel: Flames
Male Kidnapper, Female Kidnapper, Kidnap Victim
I'm in love with your games.
What happened before the video that lead to the kid being kidnapped? Was it a deliberate plan or an impulse? Is it for money or did the kid witness something he should have? What happened after the video with the female kidnapper confronting the kid in the desert? Is she out for revenge, cleaning up the mess, ready to kidnap him again, some secret fourth option? For that matter, what happened during the video? What was going on in that car? What's the relationship between the kidnappers? What brought them to this moment and how does the dynamic shift once they have the kid and then shift again post crash? What caused the car flip anyway? The light flash makes it seem like another vehicle but, if so, why didn't it stop? Did it stop? Is the male kidnapper dead? How did the kid get out of the car and where, if anywhere, was he headed? And how did she get there first? What if the video isn't non-linear and every cut to the kid in the desert is yet another go around in the time loop they're all trapped in?!
[Note: this is an AND request; please include all the characters. Also I keep saying "kid" but don't feel he has to be an actual kid.]
